Boot or shoe holder.



No; 838,198. 'PATENTED DEG. 11, 1906.

H- 0. MILLER.

BOOT 0R SHOE HOLDER. APPLICATION FILED-JUNE 1a, 1902.

INVENTEI a M WITNESSES.

5% M i 'W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOWARD OLIVER MILLER, OF BROOKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR,

BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS. TO O. A. MILLER TREEING MACHINE COM- PANY, OFPORTLAND, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

BOOT OR SHOE HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 11, 1906.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HOWARD OLIVER h/IIL- LER, of Brockton, in the countyof Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Boot or Shoe Holders, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to holders adapted to support boots or shoeswhile they are being cleaned and polished, and it has for its object toprovide a simple and effective holder of this character.

The invention consists in the improvements herein after described andclaimed.

Of the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of aholder embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a side elevationshowing a modified form, and Fig. 3 represents a perspective view of thelast or form which supports the toe portion of the upper.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

In the drawings, a represents a guide which is here shown as anelongated bar having in one side a longitudinal recess a, the edges andbottom of which guide the slide 1), hereinafter referred to. On one endof the guide a is formed an ear or flange a adapted to be secured to awall or other vertical support, said ear or flange being preferablyformed to be detachably engaged With earsformed on a socket aflixed tothe wall. On the outer end of the guide a is formed adownwardly-projecting arm 0 the lower end a of which is formed as a restadapted to bear upon the inner surface of the heel portion of a boot orshoe upper.

The shank or slide b is formed to enter the recess a in the guide a andis held in sliding engagement with said guide by means of the bolt 0,afiixed to the guide a and passing through an elongated slot 1) in theslide, the head of the bolt 0 confining the slide against the guide andthe guide being constructed to permit said slide to be inserted in therecess or guideway 11 by movement transverse to said guideway. On theouter end of the slide 1) is formed a downwardly-projecting arm b whichis bent at its lower portion or has a forwardly-extending part b onwhich are afiixed two substantially parallel upwardly-projecting dowelsb I). These dowels are adapted to enter sockets d d, formed in thebottom of the foreart last or form d and adapted to enter the fore partof a boot or shoe upper. The dowels I) and sockets d are of such lengththat they furnish an elon gated reciprocal bearing-surface the lengthand parallelism of which enable the dowels to securely hold the form (1in place without liability of accidental displacement while the deviceis in use. It is of course an easy matter to lift the form (1 from thedowels and from the arm portion b by giving the form d a direct upwardmovement; but in practice when a boot or shoe is placed on the form thevarious movements of the cleaning and polishing appliances upon theexterior of the upper are not likely to impart movement to the form inthe exact direction required to cause it to rise from the dowels. On theother hand, these movements are more likely to cause the walls of thesockets in the form to bind upon the dowels b without dislodging orraising the form from the dowels. I find, therefore, that this simpleholding means comprising the two parallel dowels on the arm and the twoparallel sockets in the form enable the form to be securely engaged withthe holder without the use of any additional or supplemental holdingmeans, such as a wedge or chock inserted between the rear end of theform (1 and the arm portion W. I prefer a form with a recess (1 in thebottom of the form d and sockets d extend.- ing upwardly from the bottomof said recess, as shown in Fig. 3. The recess is of such length andwidth that it fits closely upon the arm portion b In using the describedholder the slide 5 is moved back as far as it will go and the boot orshoe is drawn onto the arms a and 6 until the portion a bears upon theinterior of the heel portion of the boot or shoe and the form (1projects into the fore part of the boot or shoe. The slide 5 is thenmoved outwardly, thus separating the form d from the arm a and causingsaid parts to bear firmly upon the corresponding parts of the boot orshoe.

I employ a pawl and a ratchet to automatically look the slide 1) when ithas been moved outwardly to the desired extent, thus preventing it fromslipping baokwardly. In Fig. 1 I show the ratchet f formed upon theguide a and the pawl g pivoted to an ear or projection a upon the slide.(1 represents a handle formed on the ear or projection a", and 9represents a handle formed on the pawl 9. When the pawl is engaged withthe ratchet, as shown in Fig. 1, the handle 9 stands in position to becontrolled by the fingers which grasp the handle a, the said fingersbearing yieldingly on the handle g and holding the latter in such aposition that the pawl g is held yieldingly in engagement with theratchet It will be seen, therefore, that the pawl and ratchet actautomatically or are caused byv the operators hand to act automaticallyin preventing backward movement of the slide, no movement or otheraction of the operators hand being required in causing automatic actionother than grasping the handle a In Fig. 2 I show the ratchet formed onthe slide and the pawl pivoted to an ear formed onthe guide a.

I claim- 1. A boot or shoe holder comprising a fixed member having ahorizontally-extending arm that is recessed at one side to form aguid'eway, and is also provided with a depending arm formed to bear uponthe interior of the heel portion of a boot or shoe, a movable memberhaving a shank extending into the guideway in the fixed member and alsohaving a depending arm formed to enter the fore part of a boot or shoe,said arm being constructed to permit introduction of said shank into theguideway by movement transverse to said guideway; a headed bolt carriedby the horizontal arm and extending into a slot formed in the shank ofthe movable member to prevent displacement of said shank transversely tothe guideway, and means carried by. the depending arm for retaining afore-part last upon said arm.

2. A boot or shoe formshaped to enter the fore part of an upper andhaving a slot and a plurality of substantially parallel sockets in itsbottom adapted to receive complemental portions formed on a holder.

In testimonywher'eof I have affixed my signature in presence of twoWitnesses.

HOWARD OLIVER MILLERv l/Vi tnesses ADELINE C. RATIGAN, H. L. RoBBINs.

